-Cool the plug side first with the coldest coolant you can generate. You want the highest pressure available to be found inside the engine so as to avoid boiling coolant. Boiling point of coolant is a function of pressure and temperature. So, you can buy radiator pressure caps for racing up to 30 PSI pop pressure. So NASCAR can run 240 degree coolant temps and have the engine last for 4 hours. In olden times we broached little cooling fins around the back of the plug holes in the rotor housing. Others fly cut fins on a mill. But that just shows you that the biggest heat load is around the plugs. Others put coolant feed pipes right between the plugs for even better heat control. Do not change the direction of the coolant flow, in my opinion.
In 5th grade we learned that fluids are not compressible. True, but coolant contains bits of air in bubbles that we cannot remove. So the coolant appears to be compressible just like air. So, when we spin up the pump it compresses to some extent the coolant it is pushing through the system. So, in a closed system that means that the coolant on the suction side of the pump will drop to a lower pressure than that on the pressure side.
But low pressure in the coolant invites boiling (cavitation). Notice the lower radiator hoses on cars are larger in diameter than the upper (Pressure side) hoses. So in every car you see the exact same situation. It is then a universal problem with cooling engines.
I use a 5/8" restricter in the at the top water outlet to the radiator to keep that hole as the primary limit to flow rather than have the radiator or engine internals be the primary limit. This makes the engine internals operate at the highest pressure in the system. And reduces the pressure drop in front of the pump. At first I just replaced the stock thermostat with a restricter but later I welded the restricter onto the water outlet.
Many have told me that the wide open system will work better, but after 30 years of racing with no cooling problems.........I disagree.
Lynn E. Hanover
In a message dated 8/20/2020 4:11:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, flyrotary@lancaironline.net writes:
Hi Neil.
Two thoughts I imagine that might create issues:
1. Energy transfer down due to delta T being lower, increasing the danger of nucleate boiling near the plugs
2. Creating a higher differential between the hot and cold sides of the engine producing increased expansion differences across the engine.
Question: Do impeller pumps that we use suck and push equally well? My guess is that they don’t.
If this doesn’t matter would it help with the physical layout to suck the water through rather than push it through?
Cheers
Steve Izett
>
> Gents,
> Looking today how to hook up my electric water pump. The simplest is to send the water reverse to a standard pump. I do understand the hot side and the colder side but with the water being changes every 1 - 2 seconds, does this really matter?
> Thoughts?
> Neil.
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